The present invention relates to a digital video and audio signal recording and reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing video and audio signals in the form of coded signals and, more particularly to recording such coded signals in pre-defined packs.
Various devices have been proposed for recording and reproducing video and audio signals in the form of coded digital signals. Presently, devices such as a component system VTR using what is known as the D1 format, a composite system VTR using what is known as the D2 format, and similar systems are now commercially available and capable of serving as commercial VTRs. Furthermore, various digital VTRs that employ data compression are currently under development.
In addition to recording and reproducing a video signal and an audio signal in the form of coded digital signals, these prior VTRs also record and reproduce accompanying data indicative of recording date, recording time, title and chapter of the recorded program. Other non-video data also is inserted into the vertical blanking period of the video signal. In particular, when such prior VTRs are used as professional VTRS, information may be transmitted and received during a time period that does not coincide with the effective (viewing) area of the video signal, and this information and the original television signal must both be properly recorded and reproduced.
In such a prior VTR, the hardware and software required to process all the accompanying data can become very complex. Additionally, in order to provide a format for recording a variety of different types of accompanying data, the capacity of the recording region of the tape must be increased. However, there is also strong demand to miniaturize the apparatus and this increases the difficulty of increasing the recording capacity of the device.
Thus, the prior art has generally failed to provide a digital VTR capable of recording and reproducing a variety of different types of accompanying data, in addition to the audio and video signals, in an efficient manner and in a format that saves storage capacity.